In view of the concerns of climate protection, the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide is of particular importance. Therefore, the automotive industry is striving to develop vehicles that have a relatively low fuel consumption to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in this way and to contribute to climate protection.
One approach for reducing fuel consumption and thus carbon dioxide emission is based on the reduction of the weight of the vehicle. In order to achieve weight savings, there is an intensified search for possibilities to replace materials with relatively high weight with lighter materials, so that the vehicle components can be made of lightweight materials.
According to this concept, there are efforts to also reduce the weight of the wiring of a vehicle by replacing copper which is typically used as a conductor material in cables by lightweight alternatives. A possible conductor material is aluminum, which is in principle suitable for replacing the copper lines, which as a light metal has a low density and thus a low weight.
However, the disadvantage is that when using aluminum as conductor material in combination with electrical contact elements, which are typically made of copper, corrosion processes occur at the contact point between copper and aluminum in the presence of an electrolyte, such as salt water, and atmospheric oxygen. These corrosion processes are particularly existent in the case of direct contact of copper and aluminum, since according to the electrochemical series there is a considerable difference between the standard potentials (normal potentials) of aluminum and copper, and thus a high driving force for the corrosion reaction. Through the galvanic corrosion, the amount of aluminum as less noble metal is reduced compared to copper, which significantly reduces the electrical conductivity at the contact points between the conductor material and the contact element, and thus a demand exists for a reliable corrosion protection in the use of aluminum conductor material in combination with an electrical contact element made of copper.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.